Open to Hope Articles
Do you want to read stories of others who have been where you are? Are you looking for bereavement help, and advice? Look no further. We offer over 3,000 articles written by our Open to Hope authors.
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Can the Cycle of Domestic Violence be Broken?
April 10, 2014
If you or someone you know suffered domestic violence, ask yourself: Have I imitated violence in my home? And will my children do the same when they have their own homes? Have we mimicked violence or victimization from others and will our children do the same? It is up us to analyze our own situations and make tough but healthy decisions in order to break free from hostile living conditions. Have we been imprisoned by dominant forces and have we surrendered our instinct for survival? God created each of us with our own blueprint and with a specific purpose. We […]
A Mama Finds Memories in a Duplo Box
April 9, 2014
In my closet sits one duplo box filled with handwritten cards. The cards were for my little boy Daniel. The boy is now gone, but the cards written to him still remain. When we moved from the house where Daniel lived, Daniel didn’t get to go with us. But the yellow duplo box with cards did. A few of the cards he’d received were after hs first surgery before we knew the lump in his neck was cancer. Most were sent to him during the months he was treated at UNC-Hospitals. The duplo box had been where he’d stored all […]
Watching for Signs
April 5, 2014
I sat in the sunshine by the community pool and I overheard several sweet little voices call out, “Watch, Papa, watch.” This universal call of a child reminded me of all the times parents watch their children. For mothers, this watching began the moment she found out about the pregnancy. She watched the foods she ate and she watched with a little nervousness for all the issues in the pregnancy books. Then the precious child arrived and the watching intensified. She even found herself watching the child breathe as he slept. She continued to watch him as he grew. The […]
After Losing a Child to Violence
April 2, 2014
There is hope despite injustice for victims of crime. If you or someone you know experienced the loss of a child, then you can relate to this article. I never imagined that I would experience the devastation of losing a child at the hands of a cold-blooded killer. We sacrificed and worked hard to keep our family safe, but still homicide hit our home. Progressively violent behavior can turn regular people into murderers. We often minimize violence because we want to believe that the offender standing before us would not be capable of murder, or perhaps we prefer not to […]
Coping With the Death of a Parent: Galen Goben
March 27, 2014
Galen, a Certified Thanatologist, is one of the Grief Support Coordinators for Forest Lawn in Southern California. He is responsible for providing grief education and services to the community and to the grieving families served by Forest Lawn. Galen is an ordained Disciple of Christ minister. https://media.blubrry.com/open_to_hope_1/audio.opentohope.com/Galen-Goben.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Finding Light in the Darkness of Grief
March 14, 2014
Over four years after her death, thoughts of my daughter fill my mind every day. She has now been gone longer than she was alive. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. She was supposed to live a long life full of adventure, creativity, and quirkiness. As my only daughter in a family full of boys, she was supposed to be my best friend and confidant. She was supposed to… Whatever she was “supposed to do” was lost the day she died. My dreams for her will never come true. I am left sitting here holding my shattered dreams of […]
Diane Martin Ph.D. CT: Forgiveness
March 13, 2014
Diane Martin is a writer, therapist and educator who experienced the loss of her son Sandy to suicide. In her pathway to healing she sought to understand the profound experience of child loss through completing her PhD and recent work The Mother’s Journey. https://media.blubrry.com/open_to_hope_1/audio.opentohope.com/Diane-Martin.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Keeping Perspective During the Grief Journey
February 25, 2014
Egocentric Grief On several occasions in the almost eleven years since my daughter Jeannine’s death, I have attended calling hours for several friends whose loved ones have died. If the deceased is not a child, I will sometimes get comments like, “I know it is not the same (death of a child), but I feel so horrible (about my loss).” In some way, I appreciate these comments because it is validation of Jeannine’s death as unthinkable and unfathomable. To me however, these comments also serve to unwittingly trivialize the significance of the loss of their loved ones. Death permanently changes […]
Avril Nagel & Randy Clark: Mending Broken Hearts
February 20, 2014
Randie Clark and Avril Nagel are the authors of When Your Child Dies; Tools for Mending Parents’ Broken Hearts. Randie Clark, MA, CCC, is a therapist, and specializes in complicated issues of loss and grief. Avril Nagel is an author, editor and freelance writer. They are both bereaved parents.
